Two separate attacks blamed on rebel Hutu militiamen
in western Rwanda have killed a total of 35 people,
media reports quoted a military spokesman as saying
yesterday (Tuesday). The reports said 17 members of
a protestant pastor's family were killed overnight
Sunday in the commune of Nyakabanda, in the district
of Gitarama. In a second attack, the Rwandan News Agency
said 18 Rwandan Tutsis, who returned to Rwanda after
taking refuge in DRC, were massacred in the Kibuye
administrative district in the west. "They were
part of a group of 1,500 returnees. They were attacked
by some 300 rebels," a military officer was quoted
as saying.

BURUNDI: UN envoy says both Hutus and Tutsis are victims
of crisis

The UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation
in Burundi has said that both Hutus and Tutsis are
victims of armed clashes in the country. A statement
issued by the UN's New York headquarters said that
following his recent trip to Burundi, envoy Paulo Sergio
Pinheiro of Brazil concluded that in a situation of
war, it was very difficult to improve the situation
of human rights. Pinheiro said that during his recent
visit to Burundi, he got the sense that the authorities
"are very conscious" of the fact that people
on both sides are victims of the conflict. Pinheiro
said that the minister of defence informed him that
500 Burundi soldiers had been punished for attacking
civilians. Meanwhile, despite travel restrictions due
to mine incidents and clashes between the army and
rebels, the resident UN human rights observation mission
was able to visit nine provinces from 4 November to
16 December. It reported that in certain provinces
the human rights situation was improving, but said
there were still serious , abuses occurring in Bujumbura-rurale,
Cibitoke, Bubanza, Bururi and Makamba provinces.

KENYA: WFP begins Christmas airdrop

WFP said in a statement today (Wednesday) it had begun
Christmas airdrops of urgently needed food to hundreds
of thousands of people cut off by floods in remote
areas of Kenya. At the same time, WFP said it had launched
an airlift to flood victims in refugee camps in the
northeastern part of the country. In a one-month operation,
WFP will airdrop 1,500 mt of maize and high energy
biscuits to more than 200,000 people in Elwak division
of Mandera district, southern Garissa, southern Wajir
and Garsen division of Tana River district.

WHO says cannot yet name mysterious disease, death toll
increases

WHO said in Geneva yesterday it could not yet name the
mystery disease which has hit northeastern districts
of the country and urged calm as it awaited test results.
Meanwhile, Kenyan radio reported a further 19 people
had died of the illness in Garissa district, taking
the death toll in the last two weeks to 162. The disease
triggers diarrhoea, vomiting, and bleeding, causing
fears it could be linked to the deadly ebola virus.

CONGO-BRAZZAVILLE: Kolelas stripped of party position

Bernard Kolelas, the last prime minister of the defeated
government in Congo, has been stripped of his position
as head of the Congolese Movement for Democracy and
Integral Development (MCDDI), AFP reported. It said
an announcement on Radio Congo yesterday said Kolelas,
who is currently in exile, was replaced by Michel Mampouya,
deputy secretary general of the movement. MCDDI switched
to Denis Sassou Nguesso after he ousted president Pascal
Lissouba in October.

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Kisangani without power
due to floods

Humanitarian sources reported on Tuesday that Kisangani
remained without electricity and running water due
to recent floods. Public schools have suspended classes.
The port is still closed and one of the roads leading
to the airport is partially under water. According
to a local radio station, an after-dusk curfew has
been instituted by authorities in certain areas for
security reasons, as the city is in almost total obscurity
after the sun sets. UNICEF is organising an airlift
of relief supplies from Kinshasa to help respond to
the situation. The supplies to be delivered include
ORS sachets, BP-5 biscuits, blankets, drugs for treatment
of dysentery, water purification tablets and other
items.

NOTE TO SUBSCRIBERS:

There will be no IRIN Update on 25-26 December. The
next Update will be on Monday 29 December.

Nairobi, 24 December 1997 11:00 GMT

[ENDS]

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